Product Description

Contrary to popular belief, it is not the earth that needs to be saved, it is humankind. The earth has geological ages to recover from us; it is our survival on the planet that demands attention. In this unique and groundbreaking book, Paul Devereux has written a practical guide to using the power and energy of nature to heal ourselves - emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Combining the most recent research on intelligence and perception with the wisdom and insight of ancient traditions, Devereux uses the techniques of modern science as well as traditional lifeways to create hands-on exercises that will reestablish our harmony with the natural world. Seamlessly blending science, philosophy, and psychology, Re-Visioning the Earth creates a new paradigm for living with, not just on, the earth.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #670128 in Books
• Published on: 1996-10-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Devereux's focus, in his informative and instructional book, is on our minds rather than on nature, because he believes nature has more power to help us than we have to help it. He calls for an end to the dangerous estrangement we've imposed on the land and for a move toward seeing ourselves as a part of the Earth. Although not an archaist , he does believe in investigating the mindset of ancient peoples and their relationship with the Earth to see how this might usefully be translated to contemporary times. The goal in this brand of "ecopsychology" is to heighten our awareness of our sense of place and then utilize the resulting benefits. He says, "We are now conceptually placed at random in a model of the universe whose center we cannot see and whose periphery we do not know: we are indeed lost in space." We've lost our direct contact with nature and with ourselves in the process. We filter the natural landscape through our urbanized eyes and negate its meaning?its power to heal. Devereux explores the spiritual history of place through such things as maps, pilgrimages and sacred places. He provides experiments at the end of each chapter to help readers incorporate these new-old perceptions into their daily lives. Devereux, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and member of the Society for Scientific Exploration, believes that we see the natural landscape as merely a spoke in the wheel we call Earth instead of as the wheel itself. Unless we see it as the wheel, Devereux says, it will be us, not the Earth, that stops turning.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

How to use energies of the Earth to heal yourself.
"Heal the Earth" is a common call today.Devereaux points out that it is humans who have to be healed, because it is humans who are doing the damage to the Earth.He advocates that we get in touch with the power and energy of nature to balance ourselves and be in tume with our natural environment.Some methods he suggests are: visiting sacred sites and wilderness areas, exploring the local geography, lucid dreaming, tape recording a waterfall, studying clouds,rocks and bark for suggestive shapes and patterns, and many other activities.A strength of this book is the practical advice it gives on relating to various Earth mysteries and energies.

An Introduction to Self-Healing through Nature
"i shall not tire of re-emphasizing throughout this book that we are engaged here on a study of mind, not the Earth; it is just that the Earth can lead us to a greater understanding of consciousness, of mind and soul, if we let it give us that healing. I am also suggesting that, in a sense, the Earth itself is a state of mind." (pp. 117-118).

Paul Devereux has written a book that is not so much about the natural world and spiritual aspects of the Earth as a distinct entity (Mother Earth, Gaia, etc.) but is more focused on helping the reader understand one's own connections to the Earth through developments and applications of ecopsychology, deep ecology, and environmental psychology. It is not the method or worldview of the indigenous cultures, but the cutting edge of western science, as he notes in his introduction, "The Planet Without, the world WIthin" and in his chapter on "The Healing Earth versus 'Healing the Earth'." This is not a book for people trying to engage in nature worship or environmental activism as it is for people who are trying to better understand and heal themselves through engaged consciousness with the Self through engagement with the Earth.

Each Chapter leads the reader through the concepts which Devereux has developed over decades of work in consciousness studies such as the famous "Dragon Project" where volunteers slept at archaeological sites and experimented with dreaming. In each chapter, Devereux gives the reader the concepts and examples from around the world, and then provides a section called "Experiential."

1. "Centering: The Ancient Art of Being Here" indicates that we are all, in our own selves, at the crossroads of the seven directions: the four cardinal points, up and down, all meet in us. This locates us as our own nexus in the universe. The "Experiential" portion has exercises in "Being Here," "Getting Your Bearings," and "Drawing the Circle."

2. "Placing: Location and Dislocation: Knowing Our Place" connects us to special sites, not only in space, but in time, going back to prehistory and ancient monuments such as Stonehenge and certain times of the day when such work has special efficacy (dawn and dusk). This helps the reader find his or her own special place in the landscape to begin to work towards a deeper connection to one's self and the Earth. The "Experiential" portion looks at "Monumenteering" (prehistoric megalithic sites), "Let's Go to your Place," "Entering the Twilight Zone (or Roaming in the Gloaming), and "Finding Your Warp Factor" (states of consciousness).

3. "Journeying: Healthy Outdoor Exercise for the Soul" gets us to move around through the landscape, using the ideas of pilgrimage (moving sequentially through sites to an ultimate sacred destination) and vision questing (engaging with the spiritual/natural world at a sacred location). The "Experiential" section has the reader practice "Learning to Walk," "A Stroll Down Memory Lane," "If You Go Down to the Woods Today...," and "Medicine Walk." Devereux carefully steers the way around cultural misappropriation of Native American culture but shows how one can use many of the same underlying principles to better connect with the natural world.

4. "Mapping: Move Over Mercator (Finding Our Place in the World)" explores wayfinding and mapping both the external world, but more to the point, the cognitive states of the mind in connection to natural sites, including western cultural foundations, the ancestors, and the Otherworld (aspects of what some traditions call "pathworking" and some call "neoshamanism"). The "Experiential" section focuses on building wayfinding and exploration into one's consciousness and practice, through the exercises "Home Ground," "Life Line," "Mapping the Territory," "Orienteering," "A Personal Compass," "Blind Man's Buff," "Haptic Mapping" (connecting with place through body reactions, such as the involuntary muscular reactions used in dowsing), and "Space in Your Face."

5. "Dreaming: Soul-to-Soul with Anima Mundi" is the final chapter, finally connecting all the previous pieces and providing some real applications Devereux developed from his time with the Dragon Project. This chapter focuses on the work one can do through dreamwork that connects one to Place and the Earth, and how to interpret/understand what happens in such work. The "Experiential" section supplies a range of methods to try: "Temple Sleep," "Calling the Spirits," "Nature the Dream-Maker," "Bark with a Bite," "Rock On," "Listening to Mother," "The Vasudeva Crossing," and "Living the Dreamtime." Lucid Dreaming is part of the program.

This book is highly recommended as a great beginning for people who are comfortable with the psychological models of mainstream society, who wish to explore their psychology, spirituality and connections to Nature using practical exercises. Praxis makes perfect!